Scandinavian Design Group

Borg Summer Beer

Challenge

Borg is a local beer from Sarpsborg in Østfold in southeastern Norway, and is the area´s second best-selling summer beer. In 2009 it went from being bottled to boxed and the bottle design was adapted straight to the box. The design was not best suited to the new packaging and after some time it was felt to be too dark for a summer beer, which should echo long evenings and summery moods. Borg summer beer was supposed to increase its distribution beyond the region and include all ICA supermarkets in Norway. The design therefore needed to appeal to a new and more geographically-dispersed audience.

Solution

The industry can be quite conservative when it comes to design, leading many breweries to choose the same themes for summer beers - sea, boats and islands. Hansa Borg wanted to step away from this trend and aim for a brighter and lighter design.

The new design was to give an immediate feeling of summer with avoiding the usual cliches. The people of Østfold like to poke fun at themselves: we picked up on this through some 1980s type fun elements which offer some hope for a tropical summer: sunscreen in the sea, sunglasses, umbrellas and palm trees. Pastel colours help emphasise that the brew is light, perfect for summer's hot days and long nights. Even those too young to remember the 80s will be familiar with its naive optimism and mood: just think of Cocktail and Dirty Dancing or music from Bobbysocks and Wham.

Results

Sales of Borg summer beer increased by 46.1% in volume and 47.5 in value between 2010 and 2011. The beer remains Østfold´s second-best selling summer beer and has made a notable inroad into the rest of Norway.